Lennus Redd, one of this year’s honorary co-chairs for Trigg County’s Relay for Life celebration in May, is proof that cancer isn’t necessarily a death sentence. In Redd’s case, it barely slowed him down.

Every year, the captains of all the area’s Relay teams vote on two honorary co-chairs. County co-chair Dannye Wagner said the only criteria by which they are judged is that they be inspirational cancer survivors. This year’s co-chairs are Redd and Tammy Phillips (check The Cadiz Record in the coming weeks for a story on her).

Redd said he was honored to be recognized this year. If one had never heard of cancer and then spoke only to Redd, one would never know how the disease has claimed so many lives and left so many behind to grieve. You probably wouldn’t even know it was something that anyone was afraid of. He said his cancer is currently in remission, and that his doctors haven’t given him reason to worry for some time.

“Everything is looking good,” he said.

Redd said he was diagnosed with colon cancer on March 1, 2004. He said he received chemotherapy treatment for six months, but that his cancer thankfully wasn’t bad enough to force him to take radiation too. He said he didn’t feel as scared as some might because as he was being carted from hospital room to hospital room, he only thought about the task at hand.

“It came on so fast, I didn’t have time to think,” Redd said.

Redd began his treatment at Murray-Calloway County Hospital. After his first surgery to remove his blockage, he said he couldn’t eat anything but ice for about 12 days. The doctors later thought the bloackage was back and weren’t sure what had caused it. He then went to St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville, where doctors discovered that what looked like the blockage’s return was in fact just swelling where he had been sewn up.

For more on Redd's victory over cancer, see The Cadiz Record. Check next week's edition for the second Honorary Co-Chair, too.